Hello everyone at GV, My name is Zack and i'm here with my girlfriend Destiny. I am 17 and her 16 and are thinking about trying to contact a ghost in her aunts house who we are spending the weekend with.

We were considering using the EVP method to see if anything is here. The reason for this is because she said that she had a time when she was woken up by a voice whispering to her and she felt chills, her grand-daughter was sound asleep and her husband wasn't home. She said she also had goosebumps and so on.

So is this a safe idea for first timers in communicating with spirit(s) in this house if there is one? We haven't ever done anything like this officially before so wanted to know what you all thought. We were planning on using Destiny's laptop microphone to record while we asked questions (basic stuff, name, how are you, why are you here)

Do you have any advice? Warnings? Or should we not do this at all.

Note I (Zack) am prone to getting anxious rather easily (scared as well) and I know that that can sometimes cause a bad spirit to respond to our questions. If this happens can we just delete the recording and watch tv and move on with our lives and forget about it? Or will that lead to something bad..? ._.

Hi Zack,
There are other people on this board that are more experienced than I am but I'll tell you what I think. EVP's aren't dangerous, people are. Script your questions before hand and make sure you don't ask for a spirit to come in to the house. Don't ask it to come forward. Ask if any spirits are present. Don't invite trouble. You can ask all kinds of questions as long as they can not be misunderstood to mean an invatition. That's why you should write down the questions first and go over them a couple of times to make sure it's not an invatition.
Hope I've helped.
Gracie H.

Interests:Serious Research and separating the truth from the hype in the paranormal field today.

Posted 09 October 2010 - 09:35 AM

I don't really see much of a problem as you are going about it. Just remember though that if you get a legitimate response it will be very clear and as a newbie will likely scare your socks off! EVPs are actually quite rare. The vast majority of what you hear, those vague sounds that are buried down in the background noise are generally just that, noise. They are mistaken for EVPs because of the audio paraidolia effect.

The use of a computer as a recorder is not rteally the best method, but if you want to use it, aside from the possibility of false positives, I see no problems. If you decide you want to pursue EVP work though you will want a good stereo recorder, but just starting out use whatever you want. If you get something you don't want just delete it. Nothing has any power over you unless you give it that power.

Hello Zack i dont think you and Destiny have anything to worrie about allthough i wish you were useing a GhostBox and a digital recorder because this would greatly increase your odd's of hearing any replies that your geting.
My 8 year old GranDaughter just done an evp session with some Ghosts of Gettysburgh 2 weeks ago useing my GhostBox, she was with her Dad and Mom and i had stayed home. I told my GranDaughter i would go along the next time and we can both do some sessionswhile her Mom takes the digital pictures.
One thing i allways do at the end of any session is to "Command all evil spirts" in the name of "Jesus Christ" not to attach themselfs to me or follow me.
Good luck

Hello Zack i dont think you and Destiny have anything to worrie about allthough i wish you were useing a GhostBox and a digital recorder because this would greatly increase your odd's of hearing any replies that your geting.My 8 year old GranDaughter just done an evp session with some Ghosts of Gettysburgh 2 weeks ago useing my GhostBox, she was with her Dad and Mom and i had stayed home. I told my GranDaughter i would go along the next time and we can both do some sessionswhile her Mom takes the digital pictures.One thing i allways do at the end of any session is to "Command all evil spirts" in the name of "Jesus Christ" not to attach themselfs to me or follow me.Good luck

Good advice! But I think a GhostBox would scare them to much.Gracie H.

Thank you all for your replys. I guess I have a few more questions now.

Would questions such as: "Is there any spirits present?" "What is your name?" "Why are you here?" "What is the afterlife like?" Okay questions? Those aren't inviting right? We just want to know if the "voice" Destiny's aunt heard was in-fact a ghost.

Also with this should we take precautions? I've read about imaging a white shield around you in your mind and just have a calm and clear train of thought. Although I will be honest when we do this im going to be nervous and somewhat scared..Will that risk bringing a bad spirit onto our recording?

I hear not to show fear, can they tell if I feel it then? Not show the fear but in my gut know that I am scared lol. We are going to do this tonight, once everyone else is in bed so it's quiet and then begin our questions. But before we start and finish should we do something like, "We do not want any evil or bad spirits to come near us, if you are a kind and good spirit then feel free to communicate with us now." and then when were done do something like "May no spirits attatch themselves to us, in the name of Jesus Christ and the power of god were leaving now. Goodbye" Or a make-shift of that be okay? Is it needed?

Your on the right track. Don't be scared, easier said than done. I think just about everyone is scared the first time they do anything so it's not unreasonable. I just hate to see anyone scared about this stuff. If you go in with a level head there isn't anything to be scared about and your doing right by getting some of the great advise availble here. Protecting yourself is the best idea always. Say a prayer before you start and surround yourself with the protection of love and you'll be fine. Stick to your script, it sounds real good so far.
Gracie H.

Interests:Needlework, including counted cross stitch and knitting, reading, dogs, triking (trikes are three wheeled motorcycled if you didn't know) and flower gardening. That is besides the paranormal...

Posted 09 October 2010 - 02:21 PM

Hi Zack, and welcome to our Village. Most people feel more comfortable using some sort of protection ritual before attemping any contact with the spirit world. Just what that ritual consisits of depends upon the person wanting protection. Most people simply ask their Higher Power (I use that term because it encompasses all the various belief systems out there) to watch over them and keep them from harm. Some people do visualize a white or blue light coming from the heavens, down to them and enfolding them. If you do that, it's best to ground yourself first. Some people use a cleansing ceremony, using sage or salt before beginning their work. Whatever makes you feel comfortable and safe. I know of one person who uses a prayer out of his childhood because it calls up happy memories and he believes that is the right frame of mind. Personally, I would recommend that you both spend a little time thinking about the whys of what you want to do this first - make sure that your intentions are in the right place. There are a great many young people out there who 'play around' with these things for a lark or to see if TV/Movies are right and they can get a demon to show up. It sounds like you are both simply looking for confirmation and to contact Grandma, which are good reasons to attempt communication, but it's still a good idea as it gets you into a meditative frame of mind and will help you to focus. I then prefer to say a prayer that I like and ask my Higher Power to be there with me, etc. Then I am ready to begin whatever type session I wish to do. I honestly don't think that how you phrase your questions makes that much difference. Since you are trying to contact Grandma, then ask if she is there and could she please come forward. Keep it simple is probably the best advise. Remember this isn't necessarily the easiest thing for a spirit/ghost to do and take a lot of energy for them. Simple questions are best, "Grandma, are you here?" and so on. Make sure you give a few moments between questions to allow for a possible answer. I think you'll find some good answers for the technical side in the Beginners Block.

"Never wrestle with a pig. All you get is dirty and the pig has all the fun." ~ Anon.

We will say a prayer and ask god to watch over us and keep all evil away from us, and then also calm down and imagine a light in our heads and such.

Then were are going to ask if anyone is there (Not sure if we should ask for a girl since her aunt said it was a female voice). Then hit record and leave it recording for 20 seconds or so and play it back. ***Also new with EVP do I ask my question in the recording or say it then record?***

If I get a responce then I will most likely ask his/hers name.

Then if it continues nicely I might ask how he/she is feeling and/or if this is discomforting them at all.

While all this is going on i'm hoping to keep calm and unfrightened haha..but you know first time is always scary for anything.

Once were done with our simple questions I suppose we just say that "We are going to leave now and cease communication. Please no spirits or ghosts attatch or follow us, bye."

^^^
That's basicly how I see this all working out. Assuming we get a responce haha. So nothing else to really worry about or to inquiry I suppose?

Is it a bad idea to video tape ourselves with my ipod (4g with camera) as we have the laptop recording for answers, just incase some stuff might make a visual appearance?

Thank you all for the help, and sorry if this was in the wrong section cause of all the questions heh.. x.x

When doing EVP'S. Keep the recorder running at all times that way your question is recorded and so is any answer you may receive. When you ask a question wait at least 30 sec to give them time to answer then ask your next and so on. Main thing is to wait in between questions.

Kevin SkatteboRemember remember the 5th of November the gun powder treason and plot, I know of no reason why the gun powder treason should ever be forgot.

Wow what a bunch of great answers i would like to commend each member of this GhostVillage forum for doing what they do best giveing great advice.
I wish you good luck JollyBlue just rember to keep that recorder going the whole time.
I'm in the mood do some hunting myself but first i want to put some new batteries in my GhostBox

Interests:Serious Research and separating the truth from the hype in the paranormal field today.

Posted 09 October 2010 - 06:39 PM

Procedural wise I would turn off all nearby electronic devices first. The ONLY one left running is your recorder. (No, I don'tuse ghost boxes, but that is another topic for debate!)

Turn on your recordr and leave it alone for the entire session. Do not carry it, move it, or touch it till the session is over and you are ready to shut it off.

Leave the recorder run for about 5 minutes. Say nothing at all, don't talk or otherwise make any noise at all.

After about five minutes ask a single question. Allow about 2 minutes and wait for any response without making any other sounds.

Then casually make a light comment to whoever your assistant is in the room. They can answer you as well. Let this lead into your second question.

Again allow a couple minutes for a response.

You can do several series of comments and questions always allowing ample time for a response.

When you are done with the session (I ususaully run for about 20 minutes at a time.) announce you are turning off the recorder now. But after making that announcement allow another couple minutes before actually turning it off. Sometimes messages will come in just before you end a session, so allow for time for this to happen.

Once you get your recording, review it listening through a good set of headphones. If you don't plainly hear something then erase the recording and start over. Do not try to clean or otherwise enhance any recordings; all this does is brings out noise and leads to audio paridolia effects. If you don't plainly hear a message, you didn't get one. (Which BTW is the most common result, I have made over 4000 hours of recordings and have exactly 6 probable EVPs, so that gives an example of how rare they really are!)

Awesome...I know a lot of people who forget to prohibit hitchhikers, though-with no slight intended to theological preferrances-I don't know if invoking the name of Christ is necessary, the spirits I've encountered seem to respect "You must remain here."

A ghostbox is an electronic device used for audio phenom, like using a recorder only its supposed to be instantaneous, as Caverat pointed out, its disputed. I've never used one so can't offer an opinion

Hey everyone! This is Destiny and Zack. Just wanted to give you an update on what happened.

We never got anything significant other than a small sigh or "hm" sound, which we tried to disprove before we thought of anything. Nothing we tried was able to recreate the sound. We aren't sure if we are going to try again, other then that the night was pretty quiet :] We did everything on script as described above and closed and such.

So that's it really, thank you all so much for the help and advice. We might start getting into the paranormal some more often now (Staying on the safeside/script of course) ^^